In this episode of “5 Minutes”, Dr. Svoboda explains the difference between how the West and East view consciousness and how it originated.

It is curious to me that both modern physics and classical Indian physics – at least classical Indian physics as described in the widely popular Sāṃkhya Darśana – are of the opinion that the universe as we see it came originally from an infinitesimal, dimensionless point called a singularity. From that infinitesimal, dimensionless point, the entire experience of reality as we know it today emerged. Both agree that this emergence occurred in a moment.

In modern physics, it is regarded as an expansion occurring over an almost infinitesimal fraction of a second until it reached a stage where it began to expand at a rate closer to the rate at which it is now expanding.

Although both agree that the universe originated in a singularity, the concept of modern physics limits itself to the idea that the singularity was composed of energy, that this energy expanded, and that as it expanded, it transformed itself into matter. Energy and matter have continued to interact ever since. As a result of their interaction, in some way and by some method that has not been explained – and, in my opinion, possibly will never be explained other than by some tautological means – consciousness somehow arose from matter and energy.

For me, it is much more believable to think along the lines of Sāṃkhya philosophy, which says that originally it was consciousness that was present: consciousness that had no limitations, no qualities, no attributes, no characteristics, nothing other than the reality of being aware of its awareness. It is sometimes described as satyam, ṛtam, bṛhat.

It was aware of its reality, satyam. There was a natural symmetry, harmony, or rhythm in that awareness that, in the singularity, was potential only and manifested itself thereafter, ṛtam. And it had the potential to expand itself dramatically into something unimaginably vast, bṛhat.
From the Sāṃkhya point of view, consciousness started from this potential of being real, of having harmony and rhythm, and of being potentially vast. It expanded itself into vastness that displays a set of cosmic rhythms and has continued to be real.

Modern physics, on the other hand, has worked in the direction of that reality expanding itself in a material and energetic way until, somehow, perception dawned. To me, it is easier to grasp the concept that perception is present everywhere and that matter and energy have occurred as a result of consciousness progressively interfering with itself.

Buckminster Fuller described a knot as a self-interfering pattern. I like to think of the development of matter and energy as self-interfering patterns that have interfered with one another to such a degree that they become progressively denser and more solid, and find it more difficult to express themselves in the way that something less dense and less material can express itself.

From the Indian perspective, even rocks possess a certain kind of awareness: a very, very, very, very slow awareness, one that is limited by this structure of self-interference that has developed over many, many, many billions of years.

I feel it is a very useful way to look at reality: to think that there is awareness in everything and that it is beneficial for us, as the species on Earth that, so far as we can tell, is the most aware, to expand our awareness and appreciate the awareness of everything in our environment. Instead of thinking of everything that is not us as objects we can manipulate, as it is so tempting to do when one focuses only on the matter-and-energy aspects of things, I think it is better to recognize that there is consciousness everywhere.

When you already have a certain consciousness in yourself and an awareness that there is consciousness everywhere, it becomes much easier to appreciate that it is wise to behave judiciously with everything in your environment so that the environment will behave judiciously with you.